Comprehensive Planning in the Southeast

The U. S. Study Commission, Southeast River Basin, considered the needs and opportunities for each use of the resources studied in developing an optimum plan of development of the land and water resources in parts of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Purposes considered included: Flood control; water supply; navigation; reclamation; irrigation and drainage; hydroelectric power and industrial development; soil conservation; forestry; fish and wildlife; recreation; salinity and sediment control; and pollution abatement. Each purpose was given equal consideration. An economic model was developed that projected population, employment, and personal income to year 1975 and to year 2000, and estimated resource needs to match those projections—all for a universe consisting of the 88,000-sq mile study area that was related to the projected growth and resource needs of the entire United States. The objectives, criteria, assumptions, and methodology used in the study are summarized. A plan to develop the land and water resource by both federal and non-federal entities is outlined.